Shelf price tag



June 27, 1961 R. J. SLAVSKY 2,990,195

SHELF PRICE TAG Filed March 7, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 OLD STYLE 22 22 22 22 22 22 2| INVENTOR. 20 Eli- BY ROBERT J. SLAVSKY ATTORNEYS June 27, 1961 R. J. SLAVSKY SHELF PRICE TAG Filed March 7, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ROBERT J. SLAVSKY BY (lawgem ATTORNEYS June 27, 1961 R. J. SLAVSKY SHELF PRICE TAG 3 Sheets$heet 3 Filed March 7, 1960 I ll PER MONTH INVENTOR.

ROBERT J. SLAVSKY BY Wgm ATTORNEYS United tates Patent 2,990,196 SHELF PRICE TAG Robert J. Slavsky, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Shaw & Slavsky, Inc., Detroit, Mich. Filed Mar. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 13,013 1 Claim. (Cl. 283-18) This application relates to price tags.

One object of the invention is to provide a price tag having identical digits on front and rear faces, with the front face digit extending the full height of the tag and with the rear face digit being half size and arranged on the upper half of the rear face.

When three such tags are combined and properly arranged with a front face digit tag to the left and two rear face digit tags at the right, a three digit price mark is formed. This mark clearly indicates a dollar plus cents price, all without using a dollar sign or a decimal point. Hence, the overall width of the price marker thus formed is reduced as against conventional markers which must use not only three digit tags, but in addition, two extra tags, one with a dollar sign, and one with a decimal point, to indicate a price of a dollar plus cents, without confusion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sheet of tags, each tag being as above described, with all of the largest digits being on one side of the sheet and all of the smaller digits being on the other side of the sheet.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description of which the attached drawings form a part.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a full scale view of a shelf fragment showing conventional price tags in use.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but shows the use of the price tags of the invention.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show front and rear views, respectively, of a single price tag with the digits on the exposed side shown in solid lines and the digits on the hidden side shown in dotted lines.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are front and rear views, like FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively, of a tag having different digits.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a section of a shelf holding, mounting two tags, side by side.

FIGS. 8 and 9, show sheets of price tags as they would be bought and stocked by the retailer, with FIG. 8 showing one face of the sheet and FIG. 9 showing the opposite face of the sheet.

FIG. 10 shows the use of price tags of the invention mounted in a large price card or panel.

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are front and rear views, respectively of a modified price tag, showing the exposed face digits in solid lines and the hidden or opposite face digits in dotted lines.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a shelf having a molding 11 on its front edge 12 in which is mounted conventional price tags 13 which have their top and bottom edges fitted into upper and lower lips 15 and 16 respectively of the molding, as shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 1 shows a typical display of merchandise 17 comprising drug items, such as cosmetics, toothpaste, tissues, aspirin, and the like, all arranged in single stacks per item, from front to back of the shelf, as is normally the practice.

As can be seen, it is not possible to price mark each of the items of FIG. 1 because so many of the stacks of items are narrower than an assembly of five tags. Five tags and sometimes six tags are required in instances where the price is a dollar plus cents, to provide three or four digits plus a dollar sign and a decimal point.

ice

Where the price is more than one dollar, it is customary to indicate the price either by three digits of the same size as indicated at 13a in FIG. 7 or with digits 13b plus two tags carrying dollar signs and decimal points. It is clear from FIG. 1 that examples 13a and 131 are unsatisfactory. 13a is unsatisfactory because there is confusion as to whether it means $2.44 or two items for 44 cents. Example 13b is unsatisfactory because it requires five spaces along the shelf, something not feasible with drug items as disclosed.

However, as can be seen from FIG. 2, the use of tags of the invention presents no such difficulty. Every price mark reads clearly, even if it is dollars plus cents. No price mark requires more than the spaces required for three digits, and no tag is required for dollar sign and decimal point. Despite the absence of dollar signs and decimal points, there is no confusion and there is no crowding.

As shown in FIGS. 3-7 price tags or cards 20 of the invention are formed with front faces 21 and rear faces 22. The front faces carry full height digits 21a and the rear faces carry half height digits 22a, with the front and rear face digits being the same digits. The rear face or half height digits are disposed only on the upper halves of the tags.

In addition, the tags herein are considerably narrower than conventional tags, being of a width one-half the height approximately.

Normally the user would purchase the tags in large sheets as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 with the tags being joined together edge to edge by being printed on a single sheet scored on vertical and horizontal lines to enable easy separation of the tags. When the tags are separated they are generally kept loosely in a suitable box from which the stock boy selects the tags as he needs them.

The tags are reversible so that one tag is used for any one digit with either its front face or rear face exposed. Hence, the stock of tags needed by the storekeeper is greatly reduced. Also, when the tags are removed from the container in which they are stored, regardless of which side is up, the stock boy always knows which digit is on the rear side or face of the card without having to pick it up and turn it over to examine it, knowing that the rear face digit is always the same as the front face digit. Since the tags would generally be all mixed up in their storage container, and not sepa rated into individual groups by digits, the stock boy can quickly and easily find the tag he needs from the mixture.

FIGS. l0l3 illustrate a modification employing tags 40 whose front faces 41 have full height digits 41a and whose rear faces 42 have half height digits 42a. The tags have tongues 43.

The tags 40 are shown supported by a support card or panel 51 having pockets 55-56 for receiving tongies 43.

This price card or panel is designed for higher price items for example furniture or automobiles, as exemplified by the price shown $980.45.

Additional pockets 57 are provided to receive insert cards 58 having additional information and also there are additional pockets 59 for additional insert cards to be inserted in area 60.

Card 51 is preferably formed with a center fold and a rear panel which protects the tongues of the tags and inserts and hides them and rigidifies the panel and pro vides a standup support.

The tags here shown have full height digits on their front faces and half height digits on the upper half of the rear faces. The front and rear face digits are the same although differing in size.

This invention may be further developed within the scope of the following claim, and the foregoing description is to be read as being merely illustrative of operative embodiments of the invention and not in a strictly limiting sense.

I claim:

Price marking means mountable in close clearance single card receiving moldings on shelf edges and useful for prices above as Well as below 99 cents, comprising a single set of plain reversible cards of identical dimensions each of a width about one-half the height and each imprinted on front and rear faces with identical single digits selected from, and in the entire set covering, several times over, the range of zero to nine; the digit on the front face being substantially the full Width and height of that part of the front face that is exposed when the card is mounted in its molding and adapted to be used as dollar markings; the digit on the rear face being substantially half the height of the rear face and positioned in the upper half of the rear face only and adapted to be used as cent markings; whereby by the use of the price marking means variable price tags may be quickly assembled Without the use of dollar sign or blank cards from a conglomerated mixture of such cards.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,346,028 -H0pp July 6, 1920 1,462,825 Ringler July 24, 1923 2,068,778 Ten Broeck Jan. 26, 1937 

